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September 11, 2011

Heaven's Music - the call of divine silence

Heaven’s music penetrates our earthly existence and invites us to deep prayer, to the radiant solemnity of God’s inexhaustible love. Enveloping each moment of time is a symphony of divine silence. An eternal melody resounds in every earthly sorrow if we have the heart to listen. It is a sobering tone that tolls behind the intoxication of pleasure and a hopeful note which lifts the soul weighed down in the frustration of suffering. It resonates in our hearts even as we pretend not to hear and we struggle to catch its subtlety even after years of learning to listen. In all these things we can hear Christ eternally lifting his heart in praise of the Father because on the Cross his fullness has pierced our emptiness, and our emptiness, his fullness. Yet how few listen for this silent harmony echoing through the vast cacophony of our world? To hear the symphony of divine silence, we must enter into deep silence. We must hunger for it. We must thirst for it. We must order our lives around seeking it. It must become a priority of the heart. Seeking this silence by love, in love, for love bestows familiarity with the mysterious Great Canticle bearing up this present moment we have right now to render it fertile with eternal meaning.

The Author

Catholic theologian, married father of three, serving as academic dean of Saint John's Seminary in Camarillo, CA, Juan Diego House for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he also teaches in the Avila Institute of Spiritual Formation. Having completed doctoral studies in '98, his research is dedicated to the wisdom of the saints and mystics of the Church. Publications: